Bennet Meets Biden in the Shadow of Afghanistan
Late Tuesday afternoon August 24 2021, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett boarded a plane for Washington, DC, cognizant that this will be the first time since November 2008 that an Israeli Prime Minister other than Benjamin Netanyahu will meet an American President. Before boarding his plane, Bennett stated: “Joe Biden is a true friend of Israel. We have a new administration in Washington and a new Administration in Israel, and I am bringing a new spirit of cooperation with me to Washington.”
For Bennett, it is crucial to prove to the Israeli people that Netanyahu is not the only one who can nurture Israel's relationship with Washington. The collapse of Afghanistan and the consequences that this defeat brings hangs over their meeting. Nevertheless, President Biden is eager to do his part to embrace Bennett, and show that despite the debacle of Afghanistan, he is working to move American relations forward.
The fact that America might be turning inward is no surprise to Israelis. That direction was apparent during the Obama Administration, and was strengthened by President Trump, whose “America First” rhetoric and actions were considered a long-term danger for Israel.
There has been hope President Biden might change that direction, but Biden was not willing to change direction in Afghanistan. For Israel, the lightning victory of the Taliban has several implications, some of which will no doubt in influence the meeting.
One of the first points of impact is, without a doubt, the devaluation of American intelligence on Iran. Events in Afghanistan these past weeks was one of the most significant intelligence failures in American history. How reliable can American estimates on Iranian capabilities and intention be, when in a country with arguably the most extensive overt and covert intelligence presence, i.e., Afghanistan, their assessment could be so wrong? Moreover, if American and Israeli intelligence disagree about aspects of the Iranian nuclear program, it will be very hard for the US to say, “Just trust us, we have better sources”.
Events in Afghanistan have underscored both the weakness and the strength of the US military. Its initial reaction seemed incompetent. During the first few days, a friend, a retired Brigadier General who had attended US Army War College, was shocked at the incompetence he saw. Israelis who evacuated over 10,000 Ethiopian Jews in one day could not believe the mighty United States was doing such a poor job.
However, the grade for the US military’s evacuation operation in Afghanistan drastically changed after the first few day, once its logistics were in place. The airlift began to operate smoothly. No one else in the world can compete. For those old enough to remember, the American airlift out of Afghanistan is reminiscent of the Air Bridge the US Air Force operated during the Yom Kippur War of 1973 to resupply the battered Israeli army.
However, the Taliban victory has more profound implications for Israel. The triumph of religious fanatics over the largely secular government, and the strongest nation on earth, will only serve to strengthen Muslim fundamentalists the world over — including those who directly threaten Israel — i.e. Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran. To them, the Taliban victory is proof that if you are tenacious enough, you can beat the representatives of the West. And for them, that is precisely what Israel is. We are already seeing Palestinians draw this connection. British-Palestinian Journalist Abdel Bari Atwan stated: “What is happening at Kabul Airport will repeat itself at Ben Gurion Airport.” “Israelis should learn to swim.” “Arafat told me in 1995 that I would live to see the Israelis fleeing Palestine, like ‘rats fleeing a sinking ship.’”
In short, the Taliban victory will make religious-based extremists in the Muslim world less likely to come to an accommodation with modernity. It will make Palestinians less likely to compromise. Ultimately, their failure to compromise has been the essence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since 1947. It has made the slim chance peace could be achieved in my lifetime ever slimmer.
Last night, a neighbor said to me, “Now we see the true face of the Americans” — implying the Americans who won't stand by their allies. Perhaps there was nothing to stand by, (although the women of Afghanistan might beg to differ). Indeed, the pictures of terrified Afghani refugees searching for a place to flee conjure images of dark moments in recent Jewish history.
What is clear, is the days when John F. Kennedy said, “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty, although this much we pledge — and more,” have passed … As have leaders able to energize Americans to believe that those burdens are worth carrying.
